Oriane Ben Kalifa, a former Border Police officer, was given a suspended jail sentence, fined, and ordered to pay compensation, after she was convicted of assaulting an Arab woman two years ago in the Old City of Jerusalem.
In 2021, Hala Salim, along with her brother and mother, tried to force their way through an area of the Old City near the Lion”s Gate that had been cordoned off.
Salim”s brother attempted to force his way through the cordon, clashing with Border Police officers on the scene, including Ben Kalifa. At one point, Salim attempted to intervene to help her brother, leading to a struggle between Ben Kalifa and Salim.
During the ensuing confrontation, Ben Kalifa grabbed Salim by the neck and brought her to a police station for questioning.
Holding her by the neck, Ben Kalifa shook Salim and punched her in the head after the two arrived at the police station, the court found in its May 9th verdict.
Ben Kalifa had initially been suspended during the investigation into the incident, but was later reassigned and allowed to complete her service.
On Tuesday, the Jerusalem Magistrate Court handed down an eight-month suspended sentence, along with a 4,000-shekel fine. The court also ordered Ben Kalifa to pay Salim 2,000 shekels.
“I don”t plan on paying a cent,” Ben Kalifa told the court after the sentence was handed down.
The former officer has denied the charges against her, claiming that Salim initiated the altercation between the two of them, and sought to appeal her May 9th conviction.
The court rejected Ben Kalifa”s appeal.
The case had drawn significant attention from right-wing activists, who accused the justice system of unfairly prosecuting Ben Kalifa for maintaining the police cordon and handling unruly locals attempting to force their way through.
“Unfortunately, the judge”s agenda trumped professionalism and the judicial rule that such cases don”t lead to conviction,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Tuesday.